Missing Child
by eccentricrabbit
Summary: Warning: Complete fluff! It's set during Season One. Booth needs Brennans help to find a child... BXB
1. Chapter 1

**A/n:** This is my first Fic, Reviews and even Flames appreciated.

I have edited this, and put it into chapters so it is easier to read. I'm sorry the first chapter is so short!

Thank you so much **Laura Dugan** for being my BETA!

**Chapter 1:**

Draining the last of her Diet Coke, she dropped the can into her paper filled bin and it hit the side with a clunk. Other than that and the ticking of her clock, the hum of her laptop, and the tapping of her foot on the floor, her office was silent.

She could feel her eyelids drooping, and her eyes stinging with exhaustion. Just one more piece… She promised herself, lifting a tiny fragment of a skull to piece it together. Like a puzzle, she thought. So far she was only half way through and it hardly looked like a skull at all.

The sound of footsteps startled her. She flung her head up and felt a little light headed but her eyes weren't drooping now, who would be in the office at… and she glanced at the clock on her computer, 1:23 am?

"Bones…?" It was Booth.

What was he doing in her office? Wait, what was he doing at the Jeffersonian on a Friday night? Why wasn't he out with Tessa?

Her fuzzy brain took a while to come up with a response, and her eyes must have deceived her because, did that man look wide awake or what?

"Yes Booth," she answered, with mock exasperation.

"Oh good, I thought you were asleep for a minute there. Look, Parker's friend has gone missing. I'm gathering up a search party, do you think you could help?" So that's why he was so wide awake - a missing child.

How long since someone had seen the child? How old was the child? Why weren't the police involved? Questions raced through her mind.

"Okay," she answered, now nearly as wide awake as he. She reached for her coat but Booth was already standing next to her. He was holding it for her to slip her arms into, she pulled it from his hands putting it on for herself. She wasn't an invalid.

"You aren't the type to ask questions, I suppose." Booth said, smiling gently at her. Can you smile gently? She wasn't sure.

"No, I expected you would tell me when you were ready." She answered, swiping her ID card. And out of the corner of her eye she saw the guard waving. Booth waved back but she didn't bother. It wasn't because she was rude; she just saw no point; she would be back.

"Parker's friend's name is Brandon, he's 6 years old and he lives on Madison Street. He hasn't been seen since he left school this afternoon to walk home. That was about 3:05 pm."

"Doesn't sound good," she said truthfully, and shivered slightly as they walked across the parking lot; she wished he would put his arm around her. After thinking that she mentally slapped herself. For one; they were work partners, two they weren't a couple, and three they were meant to be finding a missing child. How could she be so selfish?

She couldn't deny she was attracted to the man. Actually, she did. She denied it every day; but she could never love someone so arrogant. Oh god, when did the word love come into the equation?

"Earth to Bones; are you there?" she had been so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even remember getting into Booth's SUV, didn't remember leaving the parking lot.

"Sorry," she said softly, trying to keep her expression neutral.

"It's okay. I just asked where you thought we should start."

"Oh. What about the other people you said you were going to round up to help out?"

"I called them," he answered shortly.

"Why didn't you just call me?" She asked without thinking, and then she noticed a blush creep up his neck. Wrong thing to say Brennan, she scolded herself.

"I wanted you to come with _me_ and look," Booth said. He had on a cocky smile; lucky she had gotten pretty good at reading his expressions. He was feeling self conscious.

She looked at him from the corner of her eye, and noticed he was doing the same to her, so she looked out the window.

"Oh, okay," she answered calmly. "I think we should start at Brandon's house."

She turned and watched his face. He was concentrating on finding the right house, his brow furrowed, and his eyes sparkled with, what was it…? Determination.

"He'll be okay," Booth told her, but his voice told me he was trying to convince himself, rather than her. "This, this could have been Parker," Booth said softly when she didn't reply. She almost thought she hadn't heard him; maybe her mind was playing tricks on her.

"But it isn't him," she said reassuringly.

"Yeah," Booth said his voice normal again, but she doubted he was very reassured.

She knew he always got upset when it came to children, and it made her stomach twist in knots. He was so great with them; he's such a great dad, he would make such a great husband, gorgeous to boot.

"Damn," she said aloud, and Booth gave her a funny look. "Angela," she muttered. And Booth just raised his eyebrows.

She couldn't believe it, that voice in her head that said "gorgeous to boot" sounded so like Angela. She nearly turned around to see if Angela was in the backseat. She squirmed nervously. Thank god Booth didn't know what she was thinking.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

"I think this is his house," Booth said, pulling up to the curb. He was right - the boy's mother stood surrounded by family and friends. She knew it was the boys mother by the way she clutched a wallet, with photos overflowing, and her puffy red face showed she had been crying. She wondered briefly where the boy's father was.

"Hi Mrs. Taylor," Booth said, holding out his hand. "I'm Parker's dad." The woman stared at him, eyes wide. Obviously she didn't know Parker's dad was with the FBI, until now. Seeing Booth in uniform must have caused a thousand plans to form in her mind: the FBI agent was a hero, he would find her son! The relief showed on her face.

"You're with the police?" the woman's hopeful expression broke her heart, and she knew it was upsetting Booth too.

"I am with the FBI, but I have called in and they can't or won't do anything. Not until he has been missing for 48 hours, I'm so sorry." The woman's face fell.

"You are here to help though?" Mrs. Taylor asked.

"Yes, and Dr. Temperance Brennan," Booth said, and he pulled Tempe in front of him, and the two woman shook hands.

"Is Tessa coming to look too?" Mrs. Taylor asked Booth. Mrs. Taylor looked into the darkened street, as if expecting Tessa to come out of the shadows. Tempe wondered how Mrs. Taylor knew about Tessa, but hadn't met Booth.

"You know Tessa?" Booth asked, confused.

"Yes we're good friends. Aren't you dating her?" Mrs. Taylor asked. There was a pregnant pause, and Booth looked away.

"Yes I was," he answered, an angry lilt to his voice.

Tempe's heart fluttered, it seemed as though he was mad with Tessa, she wouldn't press the matter but she couldn't deny how curious she was as to what happened between them. Mrs. Taylor gave Booth a dirty look, a 'how dare you break up with my friend' kind of look. Tempe hid a grin; she had never liked Tessa.

--

Soon Booth and Tempe were searching the street opposite the boys house, knocking on doors when there were lights on, checking the alley ways, and finally standing in the middle of a deserted playground. It was then that Tempe noticed that she was leaning on Booth for support. She could feel his breath touching the top of her head and smelled his cologne.

"We should go back and see if they have learned anything new," Tempe said, pulling herself away. She felt warm and secure being so close to him, but he had a girlfriend, and being that close brought out feelings she tried so hard to bury during every case.

"Okay. Thanks for coming Tempe, you know you can go home whenever you like." That stumped her. Since when had he actually called her by my real name? She just grunted in response, and decided she'd forget her plan of keeping away from temptation, she was cold, she was worried, and she was tired. She leaned into him once again. He held her elbow to support her.

"Go, get some rest," he said.

"No, it's alright, I want to help. I couldn't sleep knowing this poor boy…" She stopped speaking, and looked worriedly at Booth.

"This poor boy…" he said, prompting her for an answer.

"Hush!" she said. This time she stopped moving so suddenly that his arm, which was now wrapped around hers, was jerked from his grasp. "Do you hear that?" she knew Booth was straining his ears to hear it. "I can hear footsteps. They stopped when we did," she whispered nervously.

"Maybe it's someone else from the search party, or a homeless person," Booth whispered back, but he pulled her from the dark playground into the light of the street, and they both walked as fast as they could back towards Madison Street.

Suddenly Tempe stopped again, causing her arm to once again be ripped from his grasp, this time Tempe was certain she had heard footsteps.

"Hello?" she said spinning around. "Who… Who's there?" she said nervously, and she felt Booth come up behind her, and protectively put his hands on her shoulders. A small voice piped up from the darkness, and it made Tempe's heart stop.

"Don't h-h-hurt m-me." The voice stuttered nervously. It sounded like a child's.

"Brandon?" Tempe asked, on a hunch she thought it may have been him.

"How d-do you know my name?" the boy came into the light he had large green eyes, and a mop of dark brown hair.

Tempe was overwhelmed with relief, and she did something she would never have done if she was in her right mind. She reached out a hand and pulled him to her, she hugged him tightly, even though she had never met him before now.

"Hey Tempe, think you might let him breathe now?" Booth asked teasingly, and Tempe held the boy at an arms length. She could tell he was thoroughly amused with her reaction to finding the boy, and it had made him smile. She blushed at his reaction; maybe she was a little more human than she had first thought. Booth seemed to think so.

"Everyone's worried about you, let's get you back to your mom," Booth said. She pulled away from the boy, and stood awkwardly looking at him.

To her dismay the boy burst into tears. Booth stroked his hair, and when neither she nor Booth could get the boy to move Booth lifted him into his arms and held him close. Tempe grabbed onto Booths elbow, jogging to keep up with Booth's long stride. She whispered to the boy that it was okay, and they were nearly home.

The boy's mother squealed with relief when her son was brought safely back into her arms.

"Oh my god… Brandon! Where did you go? I was so worried about you!" She babbled, then "Thank you, thank you!" She cried throwing her arms around Booths neck, then to Tempe's absolute embarrassment she kissed both of them, on the cheeks thankfully, and pushed her son inside.

"I'm so grateful, to both of you. What would I have done without you?"

The boy spoke clearly from the doorway, all tears forgotten. "I went to play at the playground for a while… and I got lost!" he said it sadly, but then grinned. "Parker's daddy found me."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Taylor, have a restful night now." Booth said, winking at Brandon who waved and gave Tempe a smile.

Booth then turned, holding Tempe's elbow and leading her back to the SUV. She felt dazed, and her eyelids were again drooping, this time she was fighting sleep while walking.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

"When did you last get a good night's sleep Bones?" Booth asked, turning his concerned brown eyes onto her clear blue eyes.

"Mmmph…" she sat down in the passenger side, and felt her head slipping closer and closer to Booth's shoulder. Jerking it up at the last minute she pulled herself as far from him as she could, curling her legs under her; she let sleep take her over.

Before sleep captured her, what she saw was Booth's amused expression, and she felt his hand resting on her shoulder. What she didn't hear was Booth's muttered 'so cute,' but she did hear him say, 'Love it when she does this.'

"Does what, Booth?" she said, waking up just a little, and managing to mutter through her sleep-fogged mind, she saw him flinch. Obviously she wasn't meant to hear that.

"You," he answered but she had already fallen asleep again and Booth let out the breath he had been holding.

-- Booth's POV --

He watched her sleeping form, her fragile body shivering in the cold, if it wasn't for the cold he would have let her sleep a few more minutes at least. What little good it had done would be undone if she caught a cold.

It was beginning to get light now, and the clock on the dashboard read 6:17 am. He half heartedly attempted to shake her awake.

Instead he went around to her side of the car and found her apartment keys, he slipped them from her coat pocket, and gathered her into his arms, and she stayed asleep. He probably didn't have to lift her, he could have woken her, but it was nice holding her close.

The reason he and Tessa had broken up was because Tessa knew Booth and Tempe had feelings for each other. He had finally come to terms with that, but he knew Tempe probably wouldn't come around to his way of thinking.

He guessed where her bedroom was, and because she wasn't very heavy he carried her up a short flight of stairs to her bedroom. He had never been to her apartment before, but it was just as he had imagined. Yes, he had imagined her apartment, many times in fact. He placed her on her bed, wondering what to do now. He peered into the fairly darkened room, the walls were a light blue, and she had white curtains, a white duvet, with blue forget-me-nots along the bottom.

He smiled, everything was dust free, a bookcase stood near a freestanding wardrobe, every piece of wood in her room matched. The bookcase was overflowing with books, the only untidy part of her room. Most women had make-up scattered across their dresser, she had a hairbrush; that was it. The carpet was soft and white, another door which was open and it showed a sparkling white bathroom. He saw his ruffled appearance in the bathroom mirror and cringed. Did he really look that bad?

He heard her mumble something, and he turned back to her. She sat up straight, and he realized she was fully awake.

"I'm expected at work in an hour," she said calmly, swinging her legs around to the side of the bed, but resting her head in her hands, moving obviously made her dizzy.

"Are you alright?" he asked concerned, moving a little closer to her, and crouching so that he could try and see her face.

"Mm… I think I'm getting a migraine," she laughed lightly, and gestured towards the door.

"You can go home. I'll just sleep for a couple of hours, being an hour or so late shouldn't put us behind schedule at work. I only have that skull from that factory to do…" She was thinking aloud, and he came and sat next to her.

"Don't go in, you need to catch up on your sleep. You're wasting away." She looked down at herself, and tugged at the bottom of her top nervously. Something came over him… He moved closer and pulled her to him, his arm around her waist, and she leaned into him, resting her head on his chest.

-- Brennan's POV --

"I shouldn't be doing this," she mumbled into his chest.

"Doing what?" Booth asked suspiciously.

"Giving in to temptation," she replied.

"I'm tempting," Booth said, and she could almost feel the way his chest puffed up, and she could just imagine his head swelling.

"I think I just over-inflated your already large ego, Booth," she said teasingly. Since when did she tease?

"Just what I was thinking, Bones," he said chuckling.

"You call me Tempe, and then you call me Bones again? Which is it?" She asked.

He shrugged. She wanted him to keep speaking, she loved the way his chest vibrated against her cheek as he spoke, and the deep rumble of his voice echoed through her mind. A lone tear slipped down her cheek. She didn't realize that she had taken such a shuddering breath until Booth pushed her away a little to see her face.

"Why are you crying?" Booth asked her softly, and he used his thumb to brush away the few tears that had slipped from her eyes. Now she was pissed off, getting to her feet forgetting how tired she was, she began pacing.

"I'm getting mixed signals here Bones," Booth said, looking equally as pissed off now. "Do you like me or not?"

"I do, I mean I don't! We work together Booth. I don't cry! I didn't even cry when, when… I never cry! And you can make me into a vulnerable, needy, pathetic person! I don't like it!" she yelled.

"Tempe," he said, his face softening at once. "It's okay to cry, it's not a sign of weakness. You are not pathetic."

"YES IT IS!" she screamed at him. "It is," she said softer now, shivers running through her body, she sat down in Booth's lap like a child. She purposely ignored the way her brain told her NO! And her heart told her Yes.

She ignored the shocked gasp from Booth as she settled herself on his lap and nestled her head into his chest once more. What she didn't ignore was the hand that slipped under the back of her top and stroked circles on her lower back, or the way Booth mumbled nonsense words to her, making her feel relaxed. She felt weak, but happiness took over that and she felt at peace for the first time in a long time, but she still wasn't going to cry.

She wasn't going to be pushed around. She wouldn't change one thing about her, apart from giving in to the temptation named Seeley Booth.

"Love you, Bones," Booth said, his breath tickling the back of her neck.

"Call me Tempe, and I'll bother to respond to that," she teased lightly, brain a little to foggy to think of a better thing to say.

"I love you Dr. Brennan," he said jokingly.

"Tempe." She corrected, grinning now.

"Love you, Temperance," he said, his voice still teasing.

"Tempe, Booth," she giggled, and then covered her mouth. What was she, 8 years old again?

"I love you, Tempe," he whispered, and his lips brushed her forehead.


End file.
